HONG KONG - A 21-year-old Hong Kong lifeguard, the first anti-government protestor to plead guilty to the charge of rioting during last year's unrest, was sentenced to four years' jail on Friday for a"direct attack on the rule of law".
A few dozen protesters, many wearing black and holding a banner reading"Liberate Hong Kong, Revolution of our times"gathered outside the court, chanting"there's no riot, only tyranny".The protest at the Legislative Council was the first of many last year that police cleared with tear gas and rubber bullets, angering moderate Hong Kong people in a pivotal moment for the anti-government movement.
Sin admitted to pushing police barricades and hurling umbrellas and other objects at officers, but denied planning the assaults. Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the guarantee of many freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, including an independent judiciary. Communist Party rulers in Beijing deny interfering with those freedoms.